Economist Brad Magnusson visited Encompass Credit Union’s PlanWright building on Monday to discuss the current conditions of the agriculture market with local farmers.

Local farmers had an opportunity to get a better understanding of the current conditions of the agriculture market on Monday, February 27, during the Encompass Credit Union Agricultural Outlook 2017 presentation, hosted by economist Brad Magnusson.

Magnusson is the chief executive officer of Magnusson Consulting Group – a company that reviews and analyses global markets, particularly in the oil and gas industry as well as the agriculture industry. More than 20 local farmers visited the PlanWright building for the presentation on Monday, and Magnusson says he hopes everyone in attendance was able to take away some valuable information in order to help them prepare for the upcoming growing season.

“I love speaking in rural Canada. I speak in many locations and it’s actually a joy and a pleasure to be out speaking with people. I think it’s important that people look at what’s happening in other places of the globe, because they can then take that information and they can apply it to their own management on their own farms,” said Magnusson.

“I think the key messages we wanted to show were the supplies of each individual commodity and the relating demand, and then our price projection for old crop and new crop. Added to that, one of the other key points is to look at the market and identify where you could see opportunities in prices.”

With several different topics to cover and a wealth of information to share, the presentation ran throughout the morning and continued well into the afternoon. Magnusson says he was glad to see the local farmers getting involved in the presentation by asking questions and sharing some of their own experiences with the group.

“I love talking to producers and I love that give or take and answering questions and also listening to the comments. That’s how I learn and how we all learn about what’s going on in agriculture and Canadian agriculture,” said Magnusson.

Patrick Watkins from Encompass Credit Union says he was glad to have the opportunity to learn more about the agriculture business and build connections with members during the presentation.

“The presentation piqued the interest of just about everybody here and there was something for everybody. From our point of view as being agricultural lenders at the Credit Union, we’re pleased to provide this opportunity to our members,” said Watkins.

“Hopefully they took away an understanding that the Credit Union can be viewed as a partner in serving them. Certainly money is very personal and is critical to success, and as lenders we also want to gain a strong understanding of the agribusiness that they’re in. I think it helps when they see us standing shoulder to shoulder with them in a presentation like this.”